The Pitt is Sensational

Rejoice, injury lovers, for we have been blessed with new episodes of The Pitt, and I for one am glad to have the opportunity to see many more bleeding body parts. Yay!

He's back!

Last year I was dazzled and amazed by The Pitt's first season. The ensemble cast are a gorgeous tapestry of personalities, smirking with knowing mirth and/or shaking with nerves. I love the autistic one, Dr. King, an utterly charming geek. I love Dana, the sarcastic yet warm charge nurse. I love Javadi, her eyes wide with fear or narrowed in judgement at all times. I love them all.

Not that there are a lot to choose from, but she is easily my favourite autistic character of all time.

This show was, I thought then, maybe the best-paced TV show I'd ever seen. Each episode covers an hour of the shift, and so the season takes us, minute by minute, through a full twenty-four hours in the ER, and it goes at a breakneck pace.

The sense of urgency and very particular time management is conveyed through extremely tight scenario writing here, and it's impressive. We see the doctors and nurses weave through escalating emergencies and deaths and other surprises with a determined, relentless, unstoppable energy. Triage is an insane, twisted spider web, and our little flies are working themselves loose over and over again. It's incredible.

There are some wonderfully shocking moments that come from both excellent, surprising writing that keeps the viewer on their toes, and perfectly placed visual effects that unceremoniously show you the nasty conditions being dealt with. While much of this is gory and uncomfortable, I love how un-sensational it tends to feel. The human body is a marvel, in all its bloody, pulsing glory.

You are not gonna wanna open up that cast.

All of this great stuff continues into the second season, where we have yet another day to get through. It's main man Robby's last day before a fun little trip, and it's the fourth of July baby!!!! It's America's special day. Anything could happen.

What I immediately love is the way this season crafts the feeling of reunion. Some time has passed in-universe since that awful day that was the first season, and so we see that Whitaker has grown confident and can now instruct a new little man, his own little puppy dog, in the art of being a real, actual doctor.

Whitaker also has the tender start of a mullet forming. Powerful development.

We also see that Langdon's back after a long absence and stint in rehab, and can reunite with his bestie, King.

Aww.

The sense of that time having passed and the dynamics having shifted slightly in the absence of the audience is so well done - it really feels like getting to see old friends after having been away for a while.

And we have, as expected, some horrifying and downright spooky patient issues. I will say nothing more than that there is a penis draining. And it is so horrible. And so perfect.

Pure fear.